Beyblade Generation X: Saving Grace
by Darkened-Storm
Summary: It was just supposed to be a promotional tournament. A friendly competition between six world class teams. Why then, did it go so wrong?
1. Story Credits

**Beyblade Generation X: Saving Grace**

By Darkened-Storm

**Summary:**A promotional tournament is being held in Sydney, Australia and the Bladebreakers are the special guests, going up against the PPB All Starz, the Majestics, the Saint Shields and the Blitzkrieg Boys. But things get interesting when a sixth team is entered, with Voltaire Hiwatari at its head and this time around, Voltaire has a new secret weapon – his granddaughter Ameylia Hiwatari.

**Rated: **K+ - T

**Genre: **Action/Friendship, semi-Canon

**Characters: **Tyson Granger, Ray Kon, Max Tate, Kai Hiwatari, Tala Valkov

**Disclaimer:** I, Darkened-Storm, own only my plot, ideas and characters. Takao Aoki owns Beyblade. Any characters you do not recognise from one series or another, including Steph Summers, Rebecca Carter and Ameylia Hiwatari are my creations for the sole purpose of the Generation X Continuum.

**Note:**This story is part of my fanfiction series, Beyblade Generation X. This story runs in conjunction with my other story, **No Sacrifice, No Victory**. It isn't essential to read NSNV before reading Saving Grace, but although **Saving Grace** has been released first, in terms of continuum, **No Sacrifice, No Victory** takes place first.

**Special Thanks:**I'd like to say a very special thank you to AquilaTempestas, my long-time friend on FFN and fellow Aussie. Don't know where my beyblade fic would be without you – I would have given up a long time ago.

Please continue to the next chapter to read **Beyblade Generation X: Saving Grace**

**This story is currently under revampment. Please check back soon for updates.**


	2. Prologue

**Beyblade Generation X: Saving Grace**

By Darkened-Storm

**Summary: **A promotional tournament is being held in Sydney, Australia and the Bladebreakers are the special guests, going up against the All Starz, the Majestics, the Saint Shields and the Blitzkrieg Boys. But things get interesting when a sixth team is entered, with Voltaire Hiwatari at its head.

**Disclaimer:** I, Darkened-Storm, own only my plot, ideas and characters. Takao Aoki owns Beyblade. Any characters you do not recognise from one series or another, including Steph Summers, Rebecca Carter and Ameylia Hiwatari are my creations for the sole purpose of the Generation X Continuum.

**Note: **This story runs in conjunction with No Sacrifice, No Victory. It isn't essential to read NSNV before reading Saving Grace, but is a subplot in the Generation X Continuum.

**Prologue: Masked**

It was close to midnight and the Chairman of the Beyblade Battle Association was sitting behind his desk, waiting rather patiently for the arrival of an expected visitor. To pass the time, he was reading a very long newspaper article which was slipping through his mind, leaving him without any recognition of what he had just read. Stanley Dickenson was growing increasingly worried. The many recent events had only proved to raise more concern in the old man's eyes.

It had been a very long week for the chairman. A week filled with press conferences, interviews and any other possible forms of hounding from the media. The news of a the BBA hosting its first tournament since being reinstated had sent the papers into a frenzy, the likes of which Stanley had never seen.

There was once a time when the chairman of the BBA was not the chairman at all. In fact, the Beyblade Battle Association never existed until twenty years ago, when he, and his partner, Dr. Robert Zagart began to study and design professional beyblades.

The Stanley Dickenson of 1990 would never have believed that his research could lead to unleashing the powerful and ancient spirits of legend. They were, after all, supposedly dormant - or did not exist at all.

But over the years, he grew to know better. The Sacred Spirits were indeed more than just a legend. At first, he thought that the Spirits - who the people of today now knew only as 'bit beasts' - were purely good spirits. He never thought that in the wrong hands, a bit beast could be a lethal weapon.

As a young boy, Stanley had always been interested in the little spinning tops which his father made for him out of plywood. It was a common thing in his day, to see the kids in the local neighbourhood battling it out to see who had the best spinning top.

When he was seventeen, he met another young man who shared his dream of making the sport of spinning tops known to the world: Doctor Robert Zagart. Together they spent many years researching and developing the beyblades of today.

That was when, together, they had formed the first international Beyblade association, the BBA. Tournaments were first held in America, then Europe, Asia, and before he knew it - all over the world. Five years later, Beyblading was popular enough to hold an International Championships, the first scheduled to be held in the fall of 1995.

Careful planning went into making the tournament one of the biggest sporting events in the world. But it was not to be. Four months before the tournament was due to take place, a horrible tragedy occurred. Dr. Zagart and his family were involved in a horrific accident that took the life of his wife and only son. Heartbroken and alone, Zagart resigned from the BBA and went underground. And Stanley was never to hear from him again. Zagart's last words to his dear friend were: "Make my old dream a reality, my friend."

And so the legacy that is Beyblading was born.

At first it was a sport enjoyed by many for its fairness and excitement. People all over the world, children and adult alike were learning to beyblade. For the ones who wielded a Sacred Spirit, it was their job to pass it down to someone they felt was equally worthy.

But with the ancient power, came greed. The greed of one man; his thirst for ultimate power, even to the point of World Domination.

Voltaire Hiwatari, CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises - a multimillion dollar international company based in Japan. Voltaire believed that with the power of the Six Elemental Spirits, he could rule the world. One man shared his vision. Boris Balkov. Balkov only proved to further rival Voltaire's cruelty, and working together, they began the Balkov Abbey, a gruesome and horrific training school used to gather recruits for their plot.

There was no denying it. Balkov was, in short, a genius. From nothing, he created several of the world's most powerful bit beasts. Genetic DNA replicas of several bit beasts that were thought to have perished in a great battle millennia ago. Wolborg, Wyborg, Seaborg and Falborg were the most well known of Balkov's creations.

But the worst one of all was the darkest of all bitbeasts, Black Dranzer.

After its defeat at the hands of the Bladebreakers, who rescued one of their own from the clutches of the dark beast, Dickenson and the BBA believed the world to be rid of the evil that was Black Dranzer.

Until now...

"You wanted to see me Mr. Dickenson, sir?"

Stanley spun around as a young boy, no older than sixteen, stepped into his dark and dimly lit office. A genuine smile graced the chairman's face as he greeted his sister's son.

"Yes my boy, come in," he invited. "I trust you had a safe flight?"

"I got here in one piece," the boy replied.

Stanley chuckled. "Well, I expected no less," he mused.

The boy stood by the door, motionless, waiting for the chairman to continue. He was tall, with dark, sandy blonde hair that partially covered his face, hiding his dark and enchanting sapphire eyes. The dark clothes he wore only further camouflaged his figure with the wall behind him. When his superior didn't speak, he said carefully, "Forgive me if I'm wrong Uncle Stanley, but is there something bothering you?"

Stanley sighed. "You are as insightful as ever, Matt," he said.

The teenager stiffened at the mention of his formal name. He scowled disapprovingly. "You have a new assignment for me, don't you?" he asked.

The chairman paled. "Yes - yes I do," he said regretfully.

The boy looked up, his eyes locking with that of the chairman's. "What is it?" he asked with a voice void of any emotion.

Stanley sighed. "Last month, an acquaintance of mine came to me with information about the whereabouts and plans of a certain Voltaire Hiwatari."

The boy took a moment to digest this information. He knew all too well what it meant. Ever since he'd undertaken a summer internship at his mother's office, he'd been following the story of Voltaire Hiwatari. "He's up to something," he guessed. "Something horrible."

Stanley nodded. "I'm afraid so," he said. "Voltaire, it seems, has a new plan. An associate of his has requested that I add a sixth team to the line up for this month's tournament. I have a feeling he's -"

"And you're going to let them compete," the boy cut in.

Stanley nodded again. "Indeed I am," he said. "The public knows what Boris turned out to be, if we can prove that Voltaire is in any way affiliated with Boris, we can shut him down for good."

The boy drew a sharp breath. "What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"My dear boy, I require you to do nothing but be yourself. You are my nephew, and you're spending the summer with your dear old, Uncle Dickenson – that is at least, what you will tell your friends on the Beyblading teams whilst your with them – they'll be so caught up in the tournament, they won't think twice about it."

"Wait – you want the Bladebreakers to figure out what Voltaire's up to?" Matt guessed.

"Exactly. Kai knows his grandfather better than anyone, and I'm placing my hopes in the Bladebreakers, they're fairly troublesome, but they should be able to discover what this new team is up to. And you'll report back to me every step of the way."

"You want me to spy on them?"

"I don't like to think of it as spying..." the chairman trailed off. "But I can't very well have seven teenagers - at least not without someone keeping an eye on them. "

The blonde nodded in understanding. "I won't let you down Mr. Dickenson," he said.

"I have no doubt of that," the chairman agreed. "Now, it's late, and Nancy would never forgive me if I didn't act as a sensible uncle and send you to bed."

"As you wish Uncle Stanley. I shall keep in touch." And with that, he was gone.

Mr. Dickenson sighed and returned to the window, his eyes scanning the bright and artificially lit street below. At last that was settled. He could now rest assure that he had made as many possible precautions regarding Voltaire's plan. Now if only -

"Don't you think you're pinning a bit too much responsibility on him Mr. Dickenson?" A dark figure appeared from the shadows, startling the old man, who had received such a fright that he dropped the mug of coffee in his hands. "He's just a teenager."

Regaining his composure, Stanley said, "You'll find that that boy can be very resourceful in his own right," he reached for a napkin to wipe up the spilt coffee before it leaked onto his newspaper

The figure stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, well built - in his early twenties at the very least - and covered head to toe in silver armour. He was, without a doubt, a ninja. By day, an ordinary young man, running his grandfather's dojo and looking after his younger brother, by night, a deadly and dark figure. Some knew him by his true and common name, but most knew him only as his alias - the dark and mysterious, Jin of the Gale.

"I suppose," Jin mused. "But I'll judge for myself whether or not he's worthy for the job."

"I hope you'll not be too hard on him just because he has a certain interest in one of your team members," Stanley said lightly, amused.

"Under normal circumstances, I would. But how can we trust he won't hide things from us because of her?" Jin asked.

"I'd be more worried about Kai or Tala doing such a thing than him," Stanley reasoned.

Jin chuckled. It was a dark, hollow chuckle. "Sometimes you can be so naïve Mr. Dickenson," he said.

Stanley smiled. "And yet, I've never one heard you complain about one of my orders."

"I'm one of the best," Jin said. "I do my job as instructed, no questions asked, and no mistakes either." The two remained silent for a moment, before Jin spoke again. "I was watching you before," he said. "You looked worried."

The chairman didn't reply.

"You were wondering if allowing the tournaments to continue was a good idea," Jin guessed. "Weren't you?"

Dickenson didn't reply. "It's just a promotional tournament, you know. It's not like it's the World Championships or anything," Jin went on.

Stanley shook his head. "I don't want any more young teenagers to suffer for the sport of beyblading. I almost lost some of the best last year, and I am not willing to let that happen again."

"I can see where you're coming from Mr. Dickenson," Jin said. He paused, as if considering and choosing his next words carefully. "But with all due respect, those bladers were fighting for the sport that they loved. For their friends, and for the Spirits. I don't believe that any one of them would let Voltaire take their bit beasts without a fight again. Think about that."

And with that, Jin was gone.


	3. The Spirit of the Bladebreakers

**Beyblade Generation X: Saving Grace**

By Darkened-Storm

**Summary: **A promotional tournament is being held in Sydney, Australia and the Bladebreakers are the special guests, going up against the All Starz, the Majestics, the Saint Shields and the Blitzkrieg Boys. But things get interesting when a sixth team is entered, with Voltaire Hiwatari at its head.

**Disclaimer:** I, Darkened-Storm, own only my plot, ideas and characters. Takao Aoki owns Beyblade. Any characters you do not recognise from one series or another, including Steph Summers, Rebecca Carter and Ameylia Hiwatari are my creations for the sole purpose of the Generation X Continuum.

**Note: **This story runs in conjunction with No Sacrifice, No Victory. It isn't essential to read NSNV before reading Saving Grace, but is a subplot in the Generation X Continuum.

**Chapter One: The Spirit Of The Bladebreakers**

She tossed restlessly beneath the large white blanket that covered her. She had been sitting at the window seat of the hotel room for the best part of three hours, staring aimlessly out at the dark and dimly lit sidewalk below until she had inadvertently drifted off, allowing sleep to finally overcome her. Though she slept soundlessly, she appeared uneasy.

Her long, dark hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, obscuring her face and hiding her eyes. As she shifted, the blanket slipped off her tiny figure. She never slept well on her first night in a new country, and the atmosphere of the room did not make it any easier.

It was hot. Unbearably hot. It was the middle of the hot Australian summer, of which none of her teammates were accustomed to. Five sleeping bags were rolled out on the floor in the centre of the room, somewhat discarded by the teenage boys in an effort to keep cool. The only beds in the room were occupied by two teenage girls.

The room was cluttered. Suitcases lay in various corners of the room, their contents spilling out onto the hotel room floor. Food wrappings, popcorn boxes and various other travelling objects littered the room. But perhaps the most interesting of objects were the stray newspaper clippings that lay, discarded on the floor by the window. There was no doubt that she had been reading the article titled: "BBA Considers Cancelling the 2010 Beyblade World Championships" before she drifted off to sleep.

The article was dated a few days before the current day and read:

_In an early morning conference, Stanley A Dickenson announced that the World Beyblade Battle Association was reviewing the previous year's fiasco with BEGA before deciding whether or not the World Beyblade Championships was to go ahead later this year._

_"As you know, our first and for most priority is for the safety of the bladers competing in the upcoming tournament," said the association's chair master as the conference began._

_As such, Dickenson refused to comment when asked to confirm rumours that some of last year's competitors were hospitalized after competing against two of BEGA's representatives. The competitors believed to have been admitted to the Royal Children's' Hospital include BBA Revolution captain, Mikhail Hiwatari, former Demolition Boy, Tala Valkov, Stephanie Summers, granddaughter of World renowned Dr. L Summers and Brooklyn Kingston, head of the 2008 BEGA team._

_Former coach of the BBA Revolution, Hiro Granger, however commented that 'If any such blader was in such a state as they had to be admitted to hospital the offending competitors would be removed from further competitions."_

_However, Coach Granger's motives are somewhat questionable after having left his old team to coach the BEGA team late last year._

The rest of the article was hidden from view by two other of its kind. One dated some months earlier and read:

Boris Balkov: Behind bars at last

_Boris Balkov, Russian mastermind behind the Demolition Boys and the recent BEGA League has today been arrested and charged with fraud and child abuse (continued page 5)_

If either of the articles were any indication, the previous year had been both long and troublesome. It was indeed true that several beybladers were admitted to hospital after BEGA's takeover and though the general public believed that the sport of beyblading had been restored to its earlier and much fairer game style, she knew all too well that the sport would never be fair until Voltaire Hiwatari and John-Paul Barthez were behind the bars of some far off detention cell.

There was, of course, no doubt that Stephanie Summers was a highly unusual girl in many ways.

At 4'9", she was rather short for her age, but what she lacked in height she made up for in personality. Her long, dark hair fell in curls to her waist, covering her small frame. Her skin was pale and she had shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her lips were dry and cracked from the heat, and the skin on her fingers was red and chapped, covered in small cuts, no doubt from long, hard training sessions.

Steph Summers was a beyblader. A Bladebreaker to be precise. Raised in Italy with the European Championship team, she was a highly skilled competitor. At the age of seven, she had been introduced to the sport of Beyblading by her cousin, Enrique, the Italian National Champion. When she turned thirteen, she was recruited to the Bladebreakers.

Her first year on the beyblading circuit found the Blade Breakers: Tyson Granger, Max Tate, Ray Kon, Kenny Smith, Becky Son and herself travelling the world and entering all sorts of tournaments with the infamous Kai Hiwatari as their leader. They had defeated the best of Asia, America and Europe. Then they had beaten the odds in Russia and defeated the Demolition Boys to become the world champions.

Now, four years later, they were still the world champions. Sure, they'd had their issues, what with Max, Ray and Kai up and leaving the team the previous year in an attempt to take down Tyson – but really, what team didn't have their occasional disagreements?

But none of that mattered now. They were the Bladebreakers once again.

A loud cackle from the forest outside caused her to wake with a start. She groaned rubbing her eyes and pulling the blanket move tightly around her. There was no doubt in her mind that it had been the call of a kookaburra that had woken her. The native Australian bird's call signified the breaking of dawn, and for Steph it meant that it was time for her to wake up.

She leaned her forehead gently against the window pane and stared down at the sidewalk. Then she craned her neck around to peer at the alarm clock on the table. It read 6:30 am. She blinked.

She knew there was a reason she was supposed to be up this early – she just couldn't quite remember what that reason was. The rest of her team was still asleep... maybe she could just drift off again ... she was so incredibly tired....

The very second her eyelids fluttered shut, however, the door to their hotel room was thrown open revealing a very dishevelled boy with messy brown hair and large, round glasses. "WAKE UP!" Kenny cried, running into the room and proceeding to shake his teammates awake whilst making as much noise as possible for such a small person.

A boy with dark navy hair groaned and pulled the covers over his head. "Not now Chief," he said.

"Tyson!" Kenny cried. "Oh for once in your life – get out of bed!"

Ray Kon sat up, blinking as Kenny pulled open the curtains in an attempt to wake the room at large. Beside him, Max Tate struggled to brush the sleep from his eyes.

"What time is it, Chief?" he asked, his voice groggy with sleep.

"It's six thirty!" Kenny cried, tossing a pillow at the blonde girl sprawled out on the bed closest to the window. "We're supposed to be there at eight!" He turned his attention to the smallest boy, a red head stretched out on the couch.

Be there? Be where exactly? Steph wondered as she stretched out her cramped muscles. Her bones creaked protest as she did so, but she ignored them.

"What's going on, Kenny?" Hilary Tatibana asked as she sat up in bed, running her hands through her long dark hair.

"We're going to be late!" Kenny's high pitched scream broke the sound barrier, making everyone in the room jump. At this, the blonde girl fell off the bed in shock, landing with a thud on the cold, hard floor.

"Damn it!" Becky Carter cried out, picking herself up off the floor. She rubbed her ears. "Next time, Chief," she said. "I'd rather you set the alarm."

The door to the hotel room opened once again and Hiro Granger poked his head in. "Would you lot hurry up?" he said. "You won't have time for breakfast if you keep dawdling."

In an instant, Tyson and Daichi were up and scrambling across the room to the door, shirt and shoes in hand. Steph sighed to herself as she watched them monkey around, trying to get past Hiro before they'd even pulled on their socks.

Sitting up straight on the seat, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked back at her team. Ray was already up and rolling up his sleeping bag. Max had his toothbrush in hand and was brushing his teeth in the little kitchen they had. Hilary got to her feet slowly and began to retrieve her clothes from her suitcase, having been the only one to change into her pyjamas the night before.

And Becky was reaching into her suitcase for her toiletries. She looked up at Steph and the two cousins simultaneously had the same thought. Without thinking twice, the both of them raced for the bathroom, jumping over sleeping bags and discarded candy wrappers in their effort to reach the bathroom first.

SLAM!

"Becky!" Steph yelled, thumping her fist on the door. "Let me in! I need to use the bathroom!"

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" her cousin hollered from inside the bathroom, her voice echoing off the tiled walls.

"Becky!!"

It was the usual morning routine for the Bladebreakers. Waking up at the last minute, scrambling madly to get ready on time, fighting between the girls over who got the most bathroom time. Dealing with the bizarre morning rituals of their teammates...

"Eww! Tyson! What's that!" Hilary cried out as she walked across the room, almost stepping on a foul, goey substance by Tyson's pillow.

Tyson grinned sheepishly. "Oh sorry, Hil," he said. "That's my sandwich from the plane. I was saving it for a midnight snack, but I guess I fell asleep."

Hilary pulled a face and made a point to walk right around the room, steering clear of the foul substance. She too slammed her fist on the bathroom door. "Hurry up Bec!"

"Where did Kai go?" Max asked as he pulled on his old PPB All Starz jacket. Daichi was sitting on the floor at his feet attempting to chew through his shoelaces so he could get his shoes back on his feet.

"He left early," Kenny said. "He wanted to get in an early morning practice before the tournament." He sighed as he looked down at Daichi. "Oh, give me those." He took the shoes in disgust and began to unravel the knot in the shoelaces.

"I thought the tournament didn't start for three days," Tyson said, somewhat confused.

"These are the qualifiers, Tyson," Kenny explained hastily. "We have to qualify before we can compete in the tournament."

Tyson blinked. "Are you serious?" he asked. "We're the World Champions! Why should we have to enter the qualifiers?"

"Tyson, the BBA changed that rule after the whole fiasco with the Demolition Boys the first time round," Ray explained patiently, ushering Tyson and Daichi out the door, Daichi with still only one shoe on. "Girls! Hurry up!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"You can only put on so much lipgloss, princess!!" Steph yelled, slamming her fist on the door again.

"You broke my concentration!" Becky yelled back. Steph could only imagine the look of glee on her cousin's face as she observed herself in the mirror and added. "Now I get to start all over again."

Start over again? Over her dead body! Desperate, Steph began to pound on the door with both fists. "Becky!"

Hiro pulled her away before she managed to break down the door before knocking on the door himself. "Wrap it up, Bec," he said

"Okay coach!" Becky replied innocently, unlocking the door and stepping out, flashing a grin and looking her usual perfect self that Steph envied. Her long, strawberry blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail on top of her head and her bright honey brown eyes were lined perfectly with eyeliner. She wore cherry lip gloss on her lips and an emerald green tank top over light denim jeans, torn and frayed at the knees.

"Took your time," Steph grumbled, pushing past her cousin. She was about to slam the door behind her when Hilary squeezed in behind her.

"I can't believe we slept in!" Hilary said, exasperated. "We're going to be late on our first day."

Steph was under the firm belief that when God had been handing out all the stunning features, like Becky's gorgeous strawberry blonde hair and Hilary's sparkling ruby eyes, Steph had been late and there for missed out. She wasn't unfortunate looking, no, that would be unfair to say, but nor was she anything spectacular.

She wasn't naturally skinny like Hilary and Becky. Everything she ate went straight to her thighs and at seventeen, she still hadn't outgrown the puppy fat on her arms. She had big, round, hazel eyes that shone brightly in the tiny ray of sunlight that shone through the window.

She was nothing more than ordinary, she decided as she turned on the tap and splashed her face with cold water in an attempt to wake herself up.

Beside her, Hilary had changed into a green pleated skirt and a yellow t shirt and was now fixing her makeup. Steph sighed and ripped the cap off the eyeliner and began to outline her own eyes somewhat hastily, poking herself in the eye a few times. She checked her appearance in the mirror.

Her appearance, she decided, mirrored the exact way she felt. Tired and jetlagged from a late night flight over the Pacific Ocean. "It'll do," she muttered, pulling on her jeans and a black t shirt. Digging into her overnight bag again, she pulled out a pair of black fingerless gloves and pushed her hair back with a silver headband.

Breakfast was a 'eat on the go' affair. They barely had time to snatch a slice of toast from the breakfast table (Tyson and Daichi both insisted on snatching an entire loaf of toasted bread between them) and they were out the door and being herded onto the bus by Hiro. Kai was already in the front row.

"Listen up team!" Hiro said as the shuttle bus started and pulled out onto the busy city roads. The coach stood between the two front seats, a clipboard in hand as he addressed his team. "The Sydney Championships are going to be a round robin tournament. There are six teams competing including the - "

"I thought they were going to have a straight knockout tournament," said Tyson.

"Beyblading is a relatively new sport in Australia," Hiro explained. "The Championships last year generated a lot of hype, so naturally, Dickenson was eager to promote the sport with this tournament."

Becky nudged Steph with her foot and gave an impression of Hiro's lectures, making Steph laugh. Hiro shot them a silencing look. "Remember, while you're here, you are ambassadors for your country and I expect all of you to be on your best behaviour. No - " he paused to find the right word. "Funny business."

Max, Tyson and Daichi sniggered.

"Today marks the final round of the qualifying tournaments. The Majestics, Blitzkrieg Boys and the PPB All Starz have already qualified. We compete today and tomorrow."

"We have to win all our matches today to qualify," Hilary added. "We'll all be entered across different divisions of the qualifiers, just like we were three years ago. The winners of each division will form the team that goes on to compete in Sydney."

Becky closed her clipboard. "So, all we have to do is win the matches, we don't have to battle each other?"

Daichi screwed up his face. "That almost sounds too easy," he said. "You mean we had to get out of bed for this?"

"Hold up, Sport," Hiro said, holding up a hand. "The twist is that the qualifiers are team matches."

"Team?" Max repeated, confused.

"Doubles matches," Kenny explained.

Hiro nodded in agreement. "In each match, you'll be working together with a partner in two on two battle royals."

"That's different," Tyson muttered, still slightly confused.

"Mr. Dickenson is eager to promote the best of Beyblading to the world," Steph said. "We've grown up with Beyblading, but you've got to remember that in the rest of the world, especially some of the newer nations, like Australia, Beyblading is a fairly new sport at the competitive level. This whole tournament is about promoting the sport of Beyblade – and there's nothing that gets a crowd more excited than two on two tag team matches."

"I feel like a show dog," Max joked.

Hiro ignored him. "I've assigned you each a partner who you will compete with during the qualifiers. They're on page three," he said. Rustling sounds filled the bus as everyone flipped to page three. "They're non negotiable," Hiro added as an afterthought.

"Fingers crossed we're partners," Steph said, nudging Becky, flipping open her clipboard to see who her assigned partner was.

"If I get Tyson, I'll murder him," Becky muttered as she followed suit. Then her face fell. "No luck," she said. "I got Kenny."

"Oh yeah, it's you and me, Maxy," Tyson exclaimed, hi-fiving his best friend.

"Looks like I'm with you, Daichi," Ray said, smiling down at the younger boy beside him. "That leaves..."

Steph blinked. Only she and Kai remained. It was almost unthinkable. "Me? Battle with Kai - but he's - well, he's - aww forget it!"

Hiro grinned. "Come on Steph, I'm sure you and Kai will get along just fine."

Steph took one look at Kai, who was looking at Hiro, unimpressed, and then turned back to Hiro. "Right. That sounds like a riot. I'll let you know how that one turns out."

Kai rolled his eyes. "If I won't beyblade alongside Tyson, what makes you think I'll beyblade with her? She's so hyper she's gunna be bouncing off the walls."

"Hey, I resent that!" Steph retorted.

Hiro held up his hand to silence them both. "No arguments. I'm the coach around here and that's the way it goes. If you've got a problem with it, you can stay on the bus." Naturally, no one argued and Hiro smirked to himself, pleased. This couldn't be too hard, could it? After all, it was only a promotional tournament.

It wasn't like it was the World Championships, or anything...

"We're here!" Max announced, cutting into the coach's thoughts. Faces pressed up against the window to get their first glimpse of the stadium, Max, Tyson and Daichi began to cheer as the bus came to a stop in front of the Koala Dome.

Hiro sighed. "Remember, your best behaviour..." But his words fell on deaf ears as the three boys and Becky pushed past their coach. Hiro rolled his eyes, making Steph laugh.

"Naw, lighten up coach," she said. "It's just a bit of fun." Together, she jumped down the two steps of the bus, with Ray right behind her. Tyson had broken out into cheers.

"I don't know, but I've been told!"

The rest of the team joined in, screaming at the top of their lungs. "The Bladebreakers will win the gold!"

Hiro turned to his team captain. "You better keep them in line," he reminded.

Kai snorted. "Yeah right," he said. "I'm no babysitter." And with that, he stepped off the bus, keeping his distance from his very loud teammates.

"I DON'T KNOW BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD THE BLADEBREAKERS WILL WIN THE GOLD!"


	4. G Revolutions Reinstated

**Beyblade Generation X: Saving Grace**

By Darkened-Storm

**Summary: **A promotional tournament is being held in Sydney, Australia and the Bladebreakers are the special guests, going up against the All Starz, the Majestics, the Saint Shields and the Blitzkrieg Boys. But things get interesting when a sixth team is entered, with Voltaire Hiwatari at its head.

**Disclaimer:** I, Darkened-Storm, own only my plot, ideas and characters. Takao Aoki owns Beyblade. Any characters you do not recognise from one series or another, including Steph Summers, Rebecca Carter and Ameylia Hiwatari are my creations for the sole purpose of the Generation X Continuum.

**Note: **This story runs in conjunction with No Sacrifice, No Victory. It isn't essential to read NSNV before reading Saving Grace, but is a subplot in the Generation X Continuum.

**Chapter Two: G Revolutions Reinstated**

"And the winners of Block C are the ever amazing Tyson Granger and Max Tate!"

The crowd erupted into cheers for the championship team as Tyson waved his hands in the air at his cheering fans.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'll be here all week!" he said with a cheerful grin.

"Do you ever think he lets the fame go to his head?" Hilary asked, somewhat thoughtfully as she observed the world champion's antics.

Steph merely shrugged her shoulders. "I think it's great to see him enjoying the sport again," she said. "Last year was a really rough year for him, and it's great to see him back in top form."

Hilary smiled, nodding in agreement, her ruby eyes sparkling. "You're absolutely right," she said. Then she checked her watch. "Hey, it's almost time for your match," she said. "Are you ready?"

In response, Steph snapped the attack ring back in place on her beyblade and replaced the bit chip. She looked it over. Her new HMS beyblade was some of Kenny's best work to date and Steph couldn't help but grin as she looked down at her shiny new beyblade. It was sleeker than the previous model, smaller and more streamline.

"It's designed specifically for drawn out battles. The rounded base amplifies your endurance, without sacrificing your attack strength, but it's still got a well balanced defence in case you come up against a stronger opponent."

That's what Kenny had said, and from what she had seen so far from her new beyblade, she was far from disappointed. "As ready as I'll ever be," she said to Hilary, whilst glancing over her shoulder to her teammate.

Kai sat in the corner of the locker room, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes closed and headphones in. She sighed. Kai wouldn't have been her first choice for a partner; he was more likely to knock her beyblade out of the stadium along with the rest of them than actually help her. What had Hiro been thinking?

The door to the locker room opened and Becky stumbled in, her blonde hair falling into her face as she complained loudly. Her arms were overflowing with sweets and potato chips from the confectionary stand. Daichi bounded up and down behind her, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Yay! Skittles! Skittles!" he cheered, his mouth wide open, drooling slightly.

Kai opened one eye and raised an eyebrow to glare at the disturbance, but said nothing as Becky dumped the food on the bench. "Daichi, be patient," she scolded as Daichi attempted to reach around her for the packet of red chewie lollies. She pulled a face. "Would you look at him?" she grumbled, glaring at the TV. "Does he even realise he's on national – international – television?"

Hilary laughed. "That's Tyson," she said. "Wasn't Ray with you guys?"

Ray and Daichi had qualified first, winning all their matches in Block A. Becky and Kenny had qualified from Block B next. Steph and Kai had only one match remaining, having passed all the qualifiers as easily as their teammates. They were one match away from being reinstated as the Bladebreakers.

Becky shrugged her shoulders. "He said something about scouting out the competition – oh, alright Daichi!" She gave in, handing the eager boy the lollies. Daichi's eyes lit up with glee and he tore the packet open and jumped up onto the bench next to Kai.

"Skittle?" he asked, offering the packet to the older boy. Kai twitched an eyebrow, but otherwise pointedly ignored him. The door opened again and Tyson and Max returned.

"Who's the best?" Tyson asked aloud, grabbing a chocolate bar from the bench and flopping down next to Hilary. She pulled a face and shifted away slightly. "Well? Say it," he insisted. "Who's the best?"

"Ew, Tyson, you're all sweaty," she grimaced. "Go away."

"What are you all doing in here?" Hiro demanded, clipboard in hand as he stepped into the locker room. He raised an eyebrow at the junk food. "What's all this?" Then he shook his head, not waiting for an answer. "It's our last match, and I want the entire team out there, we're supposed to be setting a good example."

"If we're here to set a good example, why are Tyson and Daichi on the team?" Becky wondered aloud. "Somehow I don't think they fit my description of a 'good example'."

Steph shrugged. "Yeah, well, neither does Kai, but if we went by definitions, we wouldn't have a team."

Hiro sighed. He wasn't exactly sure he had a team gathered before him. He shot a glance toward the team captain. Kai sighed and got to his feet, pulling on his jacket. "Come on, Squirt," he called over his shoulder as he left.

Steph pulled a face. Who was he calling a Squirt?

*

"Welcome back, beyblade fanatics. Brad Best here, in Down Under Australia and coming to you live for the Australasian Tournament."

"AJ Topper here and we're all psyched up for the upcoming match which pits the ever amazing G Revolutions team against the newest team on the block, the Back Street Bladers!"

The moment Steph stepped out into the stadium, she felt the rush of excitement flow through her. She'd missed this. She'd missed being part of a team. Being a part of the Majestics had been an exciting new experience for her, but she was glad to be back with the former Bladebreakers. The excitement and energy in the stadium was contagious and despite her common sense, she felt giddy.

Beyblade and launcher in hand, she turned to her captain. "Ready to go, Kai?" she asked.

"Hn." He stepped past her without a second glance.

"First up for the G Revolutions is Kai. Keep your eyes on his beyblade, because if you blink, you're going to miss it all," AJ said.

"That's right, AJ. A good battle's a quick battle in Kai's opinion," Brad commented. "Kai likes to end his battles before his opponent has a chance to figure out just what's happening."

"Who's dumb idea was it to put him with me anyway?" Steph grumbled. Had she won the lottery, or had Hiro just pulled their names out of a hat?

Max gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about him," he advised. "You know you can do this, right?"

She kept a straight face as she gave her beyblade one last check over. "Does a starving man want a sandwich?" Leaving Max to ponder her statement, she joined Kai in the stadium. Their opponents didn't look very tough, but then again, every time she remembered their name, she had flashes in her mind of scrappy boy bands. Back Street Bladers? What was this world coming to?

When she stepped into the stadium however, fancy names and cheering crowds faded to the back of her mind. She gave her opponents the once over, and her mind slipped into focus. She was ready to win this. Ronnie, the taller of her opponents, appeared to be the team captain. His teammate, Robin, stood beside him, launcher ready to go.

She could do this, she reminded herself. She was part of the Bladebreakers, the World Championship team. She had been the runner-up of the Italian Championships. Still, her nerves were high.

She looked to Kai. "Got a plan?" she asked Kai.

"How about knocking them out?" Kai muttered.

Steph fought back the grin. Where had she heard that before?

"Three, Two, One! Let it Rip!"

Her beyblade soared through the air and landed perfect centre in the dish. In the corner of her eye, she saw Kai's Dranzer land on the outskirts of the stadium where it took a stand. Her opponents beyblades, one red, and one bright yellow, landed somewhere to her left. In the back of her mind, she felt the sacred beast's presence. She wouldn't need her Bitbeast for this.

"Ladies first," Kai muttered.

Steph rolled her eyes. "How noble." Her beyblade flew forward, colliding with the red beyblade. She watched it soar through the air and rebounded off the side of the stadium. It wobbled as it landed, but kept spinning. She didn't give it a chance to regain its balance, but sent her beyblade in for the attack again, only this time, she was intercepted by the other beyblade.

"Darn it!" she cursed. Fighting back, she managed to shake Robin's beyblade, but as she did, Ronnie's blade forced her into the stadium wall. She fought back, throwing off Ronnie's beyblade. She realised her mistake all too late, however, her beyblade ricocheted off her opponent, only to be sideswiped by Robin's beyblade. Her own beyblade was catapulted into the air. "No!"

_TINK!_

In the blink of an eye, Kai launched his beyblade up the stadium wall and into the air, clipping the edge of her attack ring as it passed, knocking her beyblade back into the stadium. She blinked, looking over her shoulder. "Kai?"

Kai's face was void of emotion as Dranzer landed back in the stadium in perfect form beside her beyblade. "Breathe, Steph," he told her.

He was right. Her heart pounded in her chest. She had been so determined that she wouldn't let the Bladebreakers down now that they were finally a team again, that she had lost track of exactly what she was doing. And she needed to win the match.

She closed her eyes to help her concentrate. She could feel her bitbeast's presence in the back of her mind, and it urged her on. She was connected to her beyblade.

She was focused.

She flashed Kai a grin. "Thanks, captain," she said.

Kai merely smirked. "You'd be so lost without me," he said as his beyblade accelerated, giving her room to manoeuvre. "Care to try again?"

She nodded, recovering her momentum just enough so that she could launch a counter attack. She knew Kai would back her up this time. "Tempest Tsunami!."

"Blazing Gigs!"

In a flash of water and fire, Ronnie and Robin's beyblades flew from the dish and came to a grinding halt at their feat and the crowd erupted into cheers.

"And the G Revolutions take the match with an explosive attack from Dranzer and Dolphy," Jazzman announced over the roar of the crowd.

Kai turned around, his scarf flying over his shoulder. "Well, that was interesting," he muttered, extending a hand to catch Dranzer as it flew from the stadium. "Not."

Steph grinned. "Punk," she said, picking up her beyblade. Then she turned to Robin and Ronnie and extended a hand. "Nice battle guys," she said. "No hard feelings?"

Ronnie grinned at her. "It's all good," he said, shaking her hand. "Good luck in the tournament."

"Thanks," she said, pocketing her blade. She spun around and saw her teammates running towards her as Kai returned to the bench, his head bowed and his hands in his pockets in typical 'Kai' fashion.

"You did it!!!" Max exclaimed, enveloping her in a backbreaking hug that pulled her off the floor. "We qualified for the tournament!"

"Max – can't – breathe!"

But Max wasn't listening, and she felt her stomach lurch as Tyson, Becky and Daichi added their weight to the hug. Then they were falling, and the ground was rushing up to meet them.

"Ow! Guys! Get of me!!" she exclaimed, crawling out from beneath her friends and flashing Hilary a wry smile.

Hilary rolled her eyes and slapped her hand to her forehead. "I can't believe how childishly their acting," she muttered.

Ray only chuckled. "Let them have their fun," he said as he helped Steph to her feet. Becky, Daichi, Max and Tyson were now cheering loudly, like raving lunatics and Steph could tell Ray was torn between keeping his reputation and joining in.

_It's just like old times_, Steph thought happily. It was only then that she realised how worried she had been that they wouldn't be able to connect as a team once again, each having their loyalties to other teams.

But as she watched Tyson pull Hilary into the group, shouting in her ear and grinning stupidly, she realised there had never really been anything for her to worry about. They were a team – the best team. And even if their name wasn't the same anymore, they would always be the Bladebreakers.

Tyson was grinning broadly. "Next stop! Sydney!"


End file.
